Sokol
Sokol is a former professional hockey player from Russia introduced in his own trailer. He is the eleventh character available, and the third paid one. He was released alongside the "Golden Grin Casino" heist on June 25th, 2015; like Clover and Dragan, he was released in his own character pack alongside a heist release and his signature weapon: the Valkyria. Background Description Russian born Sokol had a bright future as a hockey player, a grinder for the STP Bombers. However, this was a front. Between matches, Sokol was a robber of casinos, and left a trail of emptied vaults from Moscow to Minsk. Eventually, the Russian police closed in. Sokol evaded them but knew his time as an independent heister was drawing to an end. Only one other man had the resources and insight to figure his identity, Bain. Sokol was offered a place in the PAYDAY gang and a ticket to Las Vegas for the heist of a lifetime. Though young, Sokol has everything to become a legendary heister. A gifted athlete, Sokol also possesses keen intelligence and understands his role in a team. He is fearless and physical, and uses this to get amongst the enemy, whether that be a team of hockey players or a team of SWAT. Prior to joining the crew, Sokol was a member of the (fictional) St. Petersburg Bombers ice hockey team and became a career criminal after too many suspensions on the ice for violence and doping scandals; his motivation for joining the Payday gang appears to be nothing more than the money, as shown in the pack trailer. Whether Bain had any ulterior motives behind recruiting Sokol (e.g. encouragement by The Dentist) remains unclear at this time, though Sokol is supposedly responsible for the design of the BFD. The FBI Files A recent addition to the Payday crew, we believe youthful and energetic “Sokol” to be Russian. Since the large drill used at the Golden Grin Casino heist was constructed with several parts imported from Russia, we also believe that this apparatus was designed by “Sokol”. This could indicate that, despite his young age, “Sokol” has significant experience in vault breaking, and we should consider contacting Russian authorities for information regarding similar MO’s. Quotes Trivia *The word "Sokol" is the Slavic term for "Falcon". *Based on his age and background as a hockey player, Sokol is likely inspired by the athletes of the Big Red Machine, the Russian national men's hockey team. *Sokol is currently the youngest heister, at 25. *Sokol is the second Slavic heister to join the crew, after Dragan. *Like Hoxton, Sokol turned to a life of crime at a rather young age. By the time he was inducted into the gang, Sokol already had quite a number of successful bank and casino robberies under his belt. *Sokol is notably calm, perhaps the most level-headed of the group, as reflected in his many quotes. He seems to have a preference for a quick, efficient and bloodless heist and a distaste for killing ("Down, don't want to kill you!"). **That being said, Sokol is not without certain moments of aggression. Like Dallas, Sokol may sometimes prefer Plan B (going in loud) over stealth, and in his own character pack trailer, he was the one who started the fight between the two hockey teams. *Sokol and Vlad share the same last name, though it is unlikely that the two are related in anyway as there can be multiple different families with identical surnames within a single country or region. Even on the off chance that they are, the blood-relation must be very distant. *When answering a pager Sokol will sometimes say something about "Barney". This could be a reference to Half-Life, where Barney is a security guard. *While possibly someone with the same name, a hockey jersey with the word "Sokol" can be seen in the Hall of Fame during The Alesso Heist. Video PAYDAY 2 Sokol Character Pack Trailer|Sokol Introduction Trailer PAYDAY 2 - Sokol Lines|Sokol All-Game Quotes. Gallery Sokol.png|Sokol in full detail. LiveActionSokol.png|Live-action Sokol, as portrayed by Aleksandr Lobanov in the Sokol Character Pack Trailer. Sokol Mask Overkill.png|Sokol's mask as shown on the announcement site. sketch-sokol-large.jpg|Sokol sketch from the FBI Files de:Sokol ru:Сокол Category:Characters (Payday 2) Category:Sokol Character Pack DLC